Havreflarn / Oatmeal Crisp Cookies

The Oatmeal Crisp Cookie or 'Havreflarn' are part of the traditional 'seven cookie' series, or "sju små kakor" as it's called in Swedish. We bake them fresh at random!

The Swedish tradition of serving seven different types of cookies at a dinner or social gathering started in the 1900s. The recipes have  developed over hundreds of years. When a guest came to visit, a Swedish wife was expected to serve up seven kinds of home made cookies on a platter. If she made more than seven, it would be seen as showing off, if she made less, it was considered stingy. The more gourmet and complex the baking process, the higher regarded her seven cookies would be.

When coffee became legal to drink again in 1822 (crazy King Gustav III actually tried to ban it), the custom of serving småkakor (small cookies) really took off and the Fika culture slowly etched itself into the Swedes hearts.

We have a soft spot for this tradition at Fika Swedish Kitchen and our pastry chefs love trying new småkakor recipies each week. We’ve put together a little tasting of our favourite seven. Enjoy!